We needed a tool to set out the rooms inside the house, as all the walls are right angled we needed something to get long right angled measurements. So we spent a few hours making a large framing square, using the mathematical and ancient truth that a right angle triangle measuring 3m by 4m always forms a 5m hypotenuse. So using a good quality and straight wooden batten, to form the base of the triangle, the 3metre side, we then took a flexible “cord” to stretch out to form the other two sides of the triangle.
But we were struggling to find a “cord” that will serve the purpose and not stretch alarmingly when tensioned. Ordinary string was no good, even high strength highly woven cord didn’t work (it stretched 50mm over 4m) and we resorted in using a piece of 1mm stainless steel wire (left-over from our bird disruption system up on the Skylight), this only stretched 3mm! Luckily, we had enough to make a 9metre piece with two marks at 4metres and 5metres.
Large-Framing-Square
So holding the wire out taut, at one of these marks, we can form either a left-handed or a right-handed triangle, which forms a good line perpendicular from the surface we placed the batten against.
We can mark the floor at the beginning and end points and if necessary, can extend the line out to the required length of the stud wall we are mapping out, and once that task is done, we can wrap up the wire around the batten and put it away in a nice compact package.
All-rolled-up
P.S. Can you spot our problem in the first photo?
The wire is looped around the roof post!